Best known as the Opportunity Expert based on my proprietary leadership methodology called, "the immigrant’s perspective” that defines the characteristics to be a 21st century leader. This methodology promotes the idea of leading through a lens of opportunity – that is enabled through a mindset of continuous survival, renewal and reinvention. That if leaders embrace the immigrant’s perspective, they will have a distinct advantage in business by being able to see and seize previously unseen opportunities, and opportunities others don’t see at all. I am a former C-suite corporate executive and entrepreneur of several successful companies – my firm (Glenn Llopis Group) is a thought-leadership, human capital and business strategy consultancy. We enable corporations to develop their leadership identity to further define and implement go-to-market strategies. Most of my writings, speaking engagements and consulting assignments focus on leadership, change management, Hispanics in America, career advancement, marketing diversity management, entrepreneurship, business development and turn-around operations. I am the author of Earning Serendipity: 4 Skills for Creating and Sustaining Good Fortune in Your Work; Why a Personal Employee Brand will Save Your Career and Your Workplace, Preparing U.S. Leadership for the Cultural Demographic Shift, Awakening the Latino Factor and Women Must Dive In, Not Just Lean In. I make frequent appearances on local and national TV, including CNN, Fox, ABC, NBC, and Univision. Circle me on Google+

5 Powerful Things Happen When A Leader Is Transparent

Trust and transparency have become popular workplace demands as employees seek to be aware of what is real and true. People have grown tired of surprises and want to exist in a work environment that allows one to have greater clarity of thought – by eliminating the unknowns that continue to creep into our minds with each decision we make or relationship we foster. If you survey the workplace, besides the need for job security and career advancement opportunities – employees want to be a part of a workplace culture that puts a premium on delivering the truth. They desire their leaders to be proactive in sharing where the company is headed and forthright about its future. In other words, they just want transparency so they can plan and protect themselves.

The days of utopia are over in the traditional workplace. Most people now realize they need to look out for themselves if their employers are unwilling to do so. As such, companies will lose top-talent if they are not mindful of their employees’ needs – and concurrently pay a heavy price to replace them and rebuild the momentum that was left behind.

Just think of how many careers would have been salvaged and discovered if transparency had been part of the corporate culture equation.

Being transparent is a powerful thing, if you can trust yourself and be trusted by others. The reason most leaders are not transparent is because they believe they will be viewed as less authoritative; that the credentials they worked so hard to attain will lose their power, leverage and gravitas. This is the problem with most leaders, they are not aware of the reality that exists around them. People want to relate to its leaders. People want to know that their leaders have experienced the same problems and/or how they have overcome personal hardships.

The digital age has allowed people to learn more about their leaders. As such, social media has suddenly given people the permission to enter a leader’s personal space; a place they were previously prohibited from entering. The digital age has changed the levels of transparency that we expect from people too.

We are all living during a time when people want and expect their leaders to be more human, less perfect and at times a bit vulnerable – regardless of hierarchy or rank.

This need for transparency in society is at an all-time high. There is a reason people would rather “see” a video blog than “read” a blog. They want access to one’s facial expressions, eye contact and body language. People want to evaluate whether someone is acting or being genuine. As mentioned in my American Dream blog – people want leaders who can deliver balance between knowledge (the head) and wisdom (the heart).

For leaders in the workplace, this means it’s time to be transparent by communicating less over email and through third-party communication – and become more personally engaged with their employees via face-to-face and/or video interaction and with greater frequency. This will not only build trust, but more importantly set-forth a precedent that will transcend through team(s), and establish a new type of loyalty and attitude that will ripple throughout the organization.

Here are five powerful things that happen when a leader can be transparent:

1. Problems Are Solved Faster

Employees learn more about one another and can grow to work toward solving problems faster when their leaders are transparent. For example, I can remember when my former boss would challenge us to reduce the budget every quarter. When we submitted the revised plan, we were told to give it another pass – multiple times over. After confronting my boss, he told me – “Glenn, I am being told that I must achieve a specific bottom line performance this year and if I don’t, I am going to have to cut staff. I would rather not scare anyone.” I responded by recommending that if he openly shares his concerns with our team and that if someone was not able to handle the truth – then we would discover another problem. In other words, my boss’ senior team would be more effective at designing a strategy to exceed performance requirements – rather than cutting a budget. We did and my boss learned a valuable lesson about how to solve problems by being transparent about them.

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Thanks for your comments, Robert! Agreed. We need leaders that can trust themselves enough to share the truth – so that together we can manage potential crisis and change. Thanks for contributing to the conversation!

Great article and very timely. I have always believed that there is no substitute for the truth. When delivered fairly, consistently and objectively, the truth brings transparency that builds trust. Where there is trust, the team is more apt to pool resources and build equity to resolve an issue, even when it requires them to give a little for the greater good.

Thanks Lisa – I appreciate your kind words and contributions. Excellent points! It certainly is telling how people will do more than asked when they feel purposeful. Trust/transparency is a powerful leadership tool. It should be used much more. Thanks again for contributing to this time-sensitive conversation.

Great article. People and organizations and results almost always come through people working together in relationship, at least at some level. In such a low trust environment, transparency is becoming even more critical to build and maintain high trust relationships. Thanks.

Thank you, Trina for sharing your powerful perspectives. This is the type of conversation that needs to continue in the workplace. I have been amazed at the feedback through both comments and direct emails on this topic. It has clearly struck a chord. The question remains: What are we going to do with this conversation that matters to so many people? Let’s continue to be transparent with one another. Thanks again, Trina!

Absolutely. Regarding point no. 2, I have encountered a leader who was quite transparent in all aspects, except giving critical feedback to his team members and later it become an issue as the guess work started which killed the otherwise ingredients of higher performance and good culture. How would you perceive this phenomenon?

Thank you, Jaspal! Lack of critical feedback can immediately destroy trust. Feedback is the centerpiece for a healthy workplace relationship. If employees are not getting feedback from their leaders – how and they learn, grow and performance better. Thanks for your insights and question. Much appreciated. Let’s keep this vibrant conversation active!

Well structured blog. Likewise, to connect with anyone but especially the Millennial generation, truth then trust is a must. The organizational pyramid that is turned upside down and puts employees on top will rule the next generation of greatness, servant leaders will emerge and titles will disappear. Great work Glenn!

Thank you, Stephen. You are exactly right. Especially with the Millennial generation – they expect transparency and will immediate shutdown if they believe that trust is not part of the relationship. Great point regarding servant leadership. I completely agree. Thanks again!